3. The Light Is Always Right

The Course

Key Verse: Psalm 119:105 – Where is the best place to find direction for my life? Psalm 19:9-10; 119:72, 105; Proverbs 14:12; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Goals

As a result of this lesson the children will: 1. Know that God’s Word gives us the best directions for life. 2. Feel compelled to memorize God’s Word because of its valuable directing power for their lives. 3. Memorize God’s Word.

The Equipment Room

For the following lesson you will need: 1. Blindfold [Can use a bandana, old neck-tie, etc.] 2. Boundary markers [Can use cones, chairs, etc.] 3. Soft baton [Rolled newspaper, 12" of foam pipe insulation, or pool noodle shortened to 12"] 4. Three flashlights or lamps [Small, medium, and large] or a lamp with a 3-way light bulb 5. Visuals #1a-5b [Use as PowerPoint or you can trace over the words “wrong and right” on Visuals

#2a-5b with a glow in the dark pen.] 7. Coach’s Verse Pak 8. Whistle 9. Advance preparation will be required if using the suggested 2 Small Group, 7 Mostly Boys, 8

Champions Only, or 9 Challengers Only adaptations.

The Warm-up

Décor: Have a coach give directions into the meeting area with a traffic director’s flashlight [a flashlight with an orange cone over it]. Create a pathway lit by storm candles in jars or small battery tea lights in paper lunch bags. Games: Create a new dynamic. Play regular favorite games in black-out mode [low or no lighting] or play games using head lamps or flashlights. Scripture Memory Game: Write the verse on the board or put it on PowerPoint. Say the verse together three times. Then erase all but the first letter in each word. Repeat three more times.

Opening Ceremonies

Songs: Go for the Gold [See Olympian CD Track #9.] Thy Word; Step by Step; Thy Word Have I Hid in My Heart

The Light Is Always Right Introduction – 23

Bible Lesson Review: Divide into teams. Alternate teams when asking the questions. If the child answers the question correctly, they receive 1000 points for their team. If they miss it, their team can help them. If they give the correct answer, they receive 800 points. Team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

The Coach’s Corner

(1a) We are going to play a game to start our lesson today. It’s called Blind Man’s Bluff. Are you ready? Go. [Children may be very confused at this point, especially if they have never heard of the game!] Why aren’t you playing? [Children should respond that they don’t know how or don’t know the rules.] Oh, I forgot to give you directions. Without rules and directions, this game is not much fun. You might even say that it’s boring. Who wants to play a game without rules? Not me! We need some more direction to enjoy our game. Let’s try again. The game we are going to play is called Blind Man’s Bluff. I need a volunteer to be “it.” [Select a boy to be “it.”] Okay, [name of child], is going to be “it.” His job is to tag another person with this bat [a rolled up newspaper or other soft baton approximately 12" in length]. Go! [The boy who is “it” may try to tag players and the players may scramble around in chaos. Blow your whistle to stop play.] Wait! Wait! Wait! What are you doing? You are not following the rules! You are supposed to be wearing a blindfold! [Put it over the boy’s eyes now.] The rest of you are supposed to stay inside the boundaries. [Point out the boundary lines.] All right, go! [It will be increasingly more difficult for the boy who is “it” to find the others now. Let him struggle for a while before blowing your whistle again.] What [name of child] needs is some direction. You listen to me and I’ll tell you where to go, okay? Go! [Let them play again, but this time shout out bad directions to the boy who is “it.” Say right when you mean left or “You’re going the wrong way!” when he is headed right for a group of players. This misdirection will make it almost impossible to catch anyone! The other players’ laughter will begin to give the prank away and the boy will realize that he is being tricked! The children or the blindfolded player may complain about the unfairness of this tactic, so blow the whistle to stop the game.] How did you know that we were giving [name of child] the wrong information? [The answer is that they had their eyes open.] Why did [name of child] not know? [He was blindfolded. Now let the children play with all the right rules in place without distracting or misleading the blindfolded player.] Just like the players in our game, we need to have clear direction in order to enjoy life. [Display Visual # 1a.] If we don’t have any directions, we can easily get frustrated, bored, or do the wrong thing. God wants us to live life well and to have wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to approach any situation in life, see the possible choices, and choose the right one. When we follow our own wisdom, it will lead us into trouble. Listen to what the Bible says about following the way that seems right to us. [Read Proverbs 14:12.] We must follow God’s wisdom found in the Bible in order to make right choices and go the right direction in life. Memorization helps us to remember what God wants us to do. [Display the Coach’s Verse Pak and share the verse you are currently working on as an example of a key verse.] Listen to what the psalmist said about the value of God’s Word. [Read Psalm 119:72 and Psalm 19:9-10.] God’s Word is sweeter than honey and more valuable than gold or silver. [Display Visual #1b.] When we memorize and meditate on God’s Word, we are training our minds to follow God’s valuable way of thinking. When we read, meditate, and memorize God’s Word, we are challenged to replace the direction we want to go for the direction He wants us to go. (2) (1b) (7) Have you ever been hiking at night? At night, it is easy to get confused or lost because we can’t see. In your life there are times you don’t know what to do. You face a hard decision and don’t know which way to go. Memorization helps us to remember that God is our helper and to keep on going through the hard or scary times. [Display Visual #1c.] God’s Word acts like a light or lamp for our feet, showing us the way to live. [Read Psalm 119:105.] We don’t always know all of the steps to be taken or where we should go next.

ADAPTATION > 1a

Extra Action

ADAPTATION > 1b

Extra Action

ADAPTATION > 2

Small Group

ADAPTATION > 7

Mostly Boys

The Light Is Always Right Introduction – 24

[Object Lesson: God’s Word is like a flashlight or lamp. Turn on the small light or lowest setting on the 3-way light bulb.] When we read and memorize God’s Word, it helps us see what the next wise step would be. When we memorize more Scripture, we increase the power of our light. [Turn on the medium sized light or next setting on the 3-way light.] Memorizing much Scripture will help us make the best decisions possible! [Turn on the large sized light or brightest setting on the 3-way light.] We can be misled by other people’s advice. It may take us in a wrong direction. Do you remember [name of child] in the game? I was misleading him, giving him bad directions. (9) We must be careful to follow the right directions. There are many decisions in our lives. When we come to a decision point, we must stop and think about which way we should go. [Display Visual #1d.] We get directions or advice every day from many different places and people: friends, music, books, movies, and television. [Display Visual #2. Place Visuals #3a-5a to the left of Visual #2.] It all sounds so good and we could easily decide to listen to them. [Turn the lights off. The word “wrong” will appear on the top of each page. Read and point to Visuals #3a-5a. ] Wrong friends, wrong music, wrong books, or wrong television programs can give us wrong advice. If we listen to their direction, we might ignore God or disobey Him. [Turn lights back on.] Sometimes even those things that we think are good and harmless can give us wrong ideas. We must be careful to listen to the right directions. [Display Visual #5b to the right of Visual #2.] The Word of God always gives us right advice. [Display Visual #1e.] Memorizing Scripture helps us decide which sources of advice are deceiving us and which ones are directing us in the way we should go. Even when it’s dark [turn out lights], memorized verses will show us where to go to please God. [Turn lights back on.] We need to be a positive advice giver! By memorizing Scripture, we can share with our friends and family things that God wants them to do. We give the best advice when we use God’s Word of truth. The verses we have memorized can be lights to their feet, too! What would happen if we didn’t memorize Bible verses? We would be like a flashlight without a battery! We would not be able to give the direction that people really need. Sometimes when there is trouble in a friend’s life, we cannot take time to look it up in the Bible. We need to be ready always to give them direction while they are in trouble. We have amazing direction in God’s Word and we need to memorize it and share it! (8)

Running the Race

Mostly Unchurched Children Mostly Churched Children Now that we know the benefits of memorizing Bible verses, let’s look at some ways to help you to memorize. The first thing is to make sure you know what the verse is saying. If you need help understanding the verse, please talk to one of your coaches. They can help you understand the meaning of the verse. Everyone learns differently so here are some games you can play to help make Scripture memory fun! [As time permits play some of these games below using the first verse on their Scripture Memory card.] You can think and use motions for certain words in the verse. For example, to represent God point to the sky. Another way is to put the first letter of each word down on a paper or a computer and try to say the verse correctly looking at just the letters.

God’s Word is valuable and directs us to His way. [Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17.] Memorizing the Bible’s truths helps us follow and serve Him better. Before you memorize the verse look it up in your Bible. Make sure you know what it means. If you have questions about the meaning of a verse be sure ask your Personal Training Coach. Every day, make memorizing and reviewing your scripture memory a part your quiet time. Everyone learns differently so here are some games you can play to help make Scripture memory fun! [As time permits play some of these games below using the first verse on their Scripture Memory card.] You can think and use motions for certain words in the verse. For example, to represent God point to the sky. Another way is to put the first letter of each word down on a paper or on a computer and try to say the

ADAPTATION > 9

Challengers Only

ADAPTATION > 8

Champions Only

The Light Is Always Right Introduction – 25

Write the verse down on a piece of paper or on your computer. Scramble the words by cutting them apart or moving them into different positions on the computer. Then try to put them in the correct order. If you have trouble holding still, you may want to stand on one leg while saying the verse or jump up and down while saying each word in the verse. The important part is not only to learn the verse but also to use it. Try to share the verse you have learned with someone else each week. Have fun memorizing and using the verses. They will stay with you and help you the rest of your life.

verse correctly looking at just the letters. Write the verse down on a piece of paper or on your computer. Scramble the words by cutting them apart or moving them into different positions on the computer. Then try to put them in the correct order. If you have trouble holding still, you may want to stand on one leg while saying the verse or jump up and down while saying each word in the verse. Memorizing God’s Word so that it can be available when you need it will help you in your life. [You may want to give a personal example.]

Personal Training Time

1. How can Scripture memory help us in our lives? 2. What are some fun ways that can help you memorize Scripture? 3. How many Olympian Scripture memory verses will you commit to memorize this year?

The Big O’vent

Walk the Plank [See Big O’vent Mega CD, page 394.] It was important to follow the commands of the Game Coach during this game. If you didn’t, you were out. It is more important to follow God’s Word each day in our lives. This week, let’s memorize a memory verse and do what it says.

Closing Ceremonies

Remember to go the right direction this week by memorizing one of your Scripture Memory verses and using it. Next week is Invite your Parents to Olympians night. [Role play a child inviting a parent to come to Olympians.]

Lesson Adaptation Explanations

1a Extra Action: Before the meeting begins, make six copies of the track cards [Visual #6]. Cut the track cards apart and display them on the wall in a random order. Cut out train visual [Visual #7] and display it at the bottom right of your game area. Say, “We need to get our way of thinking to match God’s way of thinking.” Have the children look at a master design sheet [Visual #8]. Have the children try to recreate a track to match the master design card by rearranging the pieces of Visual #6 without looking at the master design sheet. As the children work, say, “Memorizing Scripture give us direction. It helps us rearrange our messed up thinking. The only right way to get our thinking cleared up is to think biblically! It helps to memorize the directions!” Have the children check their arrangement of the puzzle pieces against the master design and make corrections. When the puzzle matches the master design exactly, move the train along the track cards to the end of the track.

1b Extra Action: In order to conserve time in The Coach’s Corner, consider using the Blind Man’s Bluff Game in some or all of The Big O’vent time.

The Light Is Always Right Introduction – 26

2 Small Group: Take your children to a location outside the meeting area where they can see a plant being trained in a certain direction. Look for ivy on the side of a building or roses on a trellis or nicely trimmed shrubbery. Discuss with the children the value of training the plants [displays beauty, better growth, healthier plants, etc.].

7 Mostly Boys: Hike out to a more remote area of the church property in the dark, using flashlights to guide the boys. Meet outside or in a storage building in the dark. Set up the visuals in a secret spot before the Olympians begins.

8 Champions Only: Make jar candles to give as gifts in the community. Apply a light coating of spray paint to the bottom half of a glass jar [wide mouthed canning jars or mayonnaise jars work well]. Pour sand into the bottom of the jar [enough to cover the bottom]. Place a tea light or votive candle in the bottom of the jar. When the paint dries, write Psalm 119:105 on the side of the jar with paint pens. Attach a business card to the mouth of the jar with a piece of yarn or string. On the business card, give the name of your church, the service times, and an invitation to a special event. Give the gifts away to neighbors in the community.

9 Challengers Only: Armed with flashlights, take the Challengers on a scavenger hunt around a darkened area in your church or church property. Have the five reasons [Visuals #1a-e written out on 3x5 cards.] interspersed along the path. Have them discover the reasons for memorization by following a path of arrows. Make the path loop back to the meeting area.

The Light Is Always Right Introduction – 27

The Light Is Always Right – Visuals #1a-1e Introduction – 28

The Light Is Always Right – Visual #2 Introduction – 29

The Light Is Always Right – Visuals #3a-3b Introduction – 30

The Light Is Always Right – Visuals #4a-4b Introduction – 31

The Light Is Always Right – Visuals #5a-5b Introduction – 32

The Light Is Always Right – Visual #6 Introduction – 33

The Light Is Always Right – Visual #7 Introduction – 34

The Light Is Always Right – Visual #8 Introduction – 35

The Light Is Always Right Introduction – 36